Two women challenging Iowa's regulation on African-style hair braiding plan to drop a lawsuit they filed last year because of a change in state law.

An attorney for Aicheria Bell and Achan Agit says the lawsuit against the state's cosmetology board will be dismissed once new legislation takes effect Friday. The pending law will allow the women and others in Iowa to do natural hair braiding without a cosmetology license, which requires 2,100 hours of training that is mostly unrelated to braiding.

Iowa becomes among roughly 20 states that exclude natural hair braiding from the type of regulation that critics say can be burdensome to people in African-American and African immigrant communities. The move highlights some occupational licensing requirements around the country that research shows can hold back workers.